Disaster Preparedness and Climate Change in Cuba

Description

As a result of climate change, ocean temperatures are warming and sea levels are rising. Natural disasters have been increasing in frequency and ferocity. Yet, over six decades, Cuba has developed a world-leading model for disaster preparedness and risk reduction. Disaster Preparedness and Climate Change in Cuba: Management and Adaptation discusses the island’s ongoing resilience against the impacts of climate change. Its commitment to disaster preparedness and management are lauded by international bodies, such as the United Nations and World Health Organization, and by governments from across the globe. Comprised of research from leading scholars, policy makers, and activists, this comprehensive, multidisciplinary analysis of Cuba’s model explores why Cuba’s approach to emergency disaster response is such a success and the aspects that make it so distinct, while also informing readers about the much-needed improvement of international approaches and policies. Scholars of communication, environmental studies, and Latin American studies will find this book particularly interesting.

Review

“Cuba’s uncanny ability to weather natural disasters with minimal loss of life is a continual source of wonderment to outside observers. An island in hurricane alley, Cuba recognized risks of climate change early and has developed the most detailed, long-term plan to confront it of any nation in the world. This collection by an international team of scholars is a deep dive into Cuba’s relationship with its environment—disaster preparedness, the tension between development and conservation, and adaptation to climate change. Cuba’s exceptional efforts to live in harmony with its environment is a subject that has not received the attention it deserves—a knowledge gap for which this book is an important remedy.”
–William M. LeoGrande, American University

“This timely study offers a highly complex and multi-disciplinary analysis of Cuba’s outstanding ability to deal effectively with the twin – and closely-related – threats of natural disasters and climate change. It provides a wealth of perspectives on how Cuba has developed sustained policies to face these increasing threats; and it demonstrates through carefully-contextualised chapters how the Cuban response is based both on collaboration and on singular, often highly inventive, solutions to its own problems. It is a must for researchers of development and environmental studies and a host of other disciplines, and its interdisciplinary focus is a model for collaborative research.”
–Par Kumaraswami, University of Nottingham, UK